How Andruw got his groove back

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For most of the first half of the 2007 MLB season, Atlanta Braves center fielder Andruw Jones couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag with scissors in his hand.

Forget that Jones is a treasure chest full of talent in the outfield because he was not producing offensively to help his team reach the win column on a regular basis. Not that he has to do all of the work, but from June 10 - 25 Jones did not record a home run or an RBI and was mired in an 0- for-21 hitless streak.

Then the sleeping giant awoke from his slumber and began making contact with the ball similar to his days as a teenage rookie. Since June 26 Jones has hit safely in 17-of-19 games with eight home runs, 23 RBI and a .303 batting average (23-for-76). Over his last 10 games, the nine-time Gold Glove award winner is batting .385 (15-for-39) with five homers and 16 runs batted in.

In Thursday's series-opening 10-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, Jones homered and knocked in three runs. However, his season marks are still low with a .220 batting average, 19 home runs and 65 RBI. But what do you expect from a player who opened the first eight weeks of the season hitting much like former Golden Girls star Betty White circa 2007?

Jones, a five-time All-Star, is on pace for his 10th straight season with at least 25 home runs and will most likely add a 10th Gold Glove to his name. Manager Bobby Cox surely hopes so since his ballclub is only 2 1/2 games off the lead in the National League East standings. And don't forget Jones is in his contract year so big numbers will bring in big bucks.

Jones and the Braves have won 13 of their last 20 games, and put the brakes on a three-game losing streak with last night's nine-run triumph over the defending World Series-champion Cardinals.

CHIPPER RIPPIN' IT UP/ FRANCO RETURNS

Chipper Jones has been on a tear since coming off the disabled list on June 13 because of sore hands.

Jones is batting .388 (45-for-116) and has hit safely in 26 of his last 30 games, including 14 multi-hit games. Jones went 2-for-3 in last night's win.

Meanwhile, ageless veteran Julio Franco made his return to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday after the New York Mets placed him on waivers.

"If it wouldn't have been Atlanta, I would have gone home because I know this is one organization that I can trust to know what I'm capable of doing and how to use me," said, Franco, who started at first base on Thursday and drove in a pair of runs with a single.

The 48-year-old Franco batted .292 with the Braves from 2001-2005 and has already earned the trust and confidence from his manager.

"It's nice to see his smiling face in that clubhouse," longtime skipper Bobby Cox said. "He looks good. He loves the game of baseball and he has fun with it. Plus he's a winner. He was a big cog in our wheel during the years that he was here."

Franco will be primarily used as a pinch-hitter and will also get most of his starts at first base against left-handed starters. Rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia will play first base against right-handed starting pitchers.

To make room for Franco on the roster, the Braves sent starting pitcher Kyle Davies to Triple-A Richmond. Davies was 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA in 17 starts this season, but was 1-5 with a 7.31 ERA in his past seven trips to the mound.

"He's just got to be more consistent," Cox said of Davies. "He's got everything going for him. He's a sharp kid. He's got all the pitches. He's a great athlete."

SMOLTZ BACK IN ACTION

Veteran starting pitcher John Smoltz was activated off the disabled list this week because of shoulder inflammation.

Smoltz, who was shelved on July 6, pitched seven shutout innings and gave up five hits in a 5-4 15-inning loss to the Reds. He struck out 11 and walked just two, and even struck out five consecutive batters during the game.

"Mentally I was as good as I've ever been -- you have to be when you've had a long layoff," Smoltz said after the game. "The physical part will click back in when I get back in a five-day routine.

"I guess it was best that it was a day game, to get really hot and be able to stay loose."

The right-hander was named to his eighth All-Star Game but couldn't play because of injury.

He is 2-2 over his last five outings with a 3.00 ERA.

WHO'S HOT

Andruw Jones. (See above)

Also, starting pitcher Tim Hudson is riding a five-game unbeaten streak.

Hudson is 4-0 with a 2.61 earned run average in his last five starts, with his only poor performance during that stretch coming on July 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. That day Hudson yielded six runs and 10 hits in three innings of an 8-6 Atlanta victory.

The right-hander is currently riding a personal two-game winning streak.

WHO'S NOT

Starting pitcher Kyle Davies was certainly not doing well as of late and the recent acquisition of Julio Franco made him expendable.

ON DECK

Atlanta is 4-3 on a 10-game homestand and will wrap it up with three more games against the St. Louis Cardinals.

After the Braves close out the stand on Sunday, they will open a seven-game road trip to San Francisco and Arizona.